Congress kills rule forcing payment disclosures by companies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress has passed legislation ending an Obama-era regulation that's required oil and gas companies to disclose payments to the U.S. or foreign governments for commercial development.

The Senate gave final congressional approval to measure Friday 52-47 in an unusual vote that began before dawn.

President Donald Trump is expected to sign the bill. It represents an initial Republican swipe at the 2010 Dodd-Frank law curbing Wall Street that President Barack Obama and Democrats enacted following the 2008 financial crisis.

Republicans say the regulation gives foreign competitors valuable information about U.S. firms and would hurt the economy.

Democrats tied the move to Exxon Mobil, headed until recently by Rex Tillerson, Trump's secretary of State. They said killing the regulation would let big firms hide questionable dealings with foreign governments like Russia.